Fate Zero: Real War
by Zetsueno
Summary: Angra Mainyu deems the competition of the Fourth Holy Grail War as too thin, and decides to rig the summoning to include two servants that can give the King of Heroes a run for his money. Watch, as servants with power to shake the foundations of Nasuverse are summoned as heroes.
1. Chapter 1 - Summoning of the Solver

**Disclaimer: Does it seem like I own either the fate series or any other anime? **

**Warning: Continue at your own risk and be warned of plotholes, possibly overpowered characters(well, Gil is there in canon, so you really can't complain on that part, I'm just evening out the battlefield), lack of sufficient knowledge in franchises involved, cliches, OOC-ness, and complete clueless-ness in writing conversations. Also, no beta = mistakes mistakes everywhere.**

Fate Zero: Real War

**Chapter 1 – Summoning of the Solver**

Angra Mainyu was the incarnation of all of world's evil. And it had not even the slightest doubt that the fourth holy grail war would end in utter chaos. But, even the truest manifestation of evil was prone to boredom. All the servants for the fourth grail war was decided, and included three kings, a chivalrous knight, a wicked mass-murderer, a loyal assassin, and another knight, albeit completely mad.

This would not have been such a dull cast at all, if it wasn't for the fact that one of the three kings is the King of Heroes, Gilgamesh, himself. If it comes to it, the war could all but end in a mere night, though that was unlikely. Still, it would be a one-sided war, in which all other servants and their battles would being simply gimmicks for Gilgamesh's amusement. But, Gilgamesh's amusement did not equal that of Angra Mainyu's. All world's evil, it maybe, but it still wished for a fairly entertaining competition. Not to mention, a worthy match for the King of Heroes no doubt warrantied death and carnage of the greatest caliber. So, it did not take the Angra Mainyu much pondering to come to a decision to rig some of the summonings. It got rid of the two uninteresting servants who were sure to get destroyed, namely Berserker and Assassin, and put in their place a hero who could give Gilgamesh himself a run for his money, and a most unique assassin. Ofcourse, the grail's resolution was in no way because it too looked forward to once in a lifetime chance to see King of Heroes struggling to keep up, knowing that there were people who could equal, or even surpass him. Nop, certainly not.

_**A day before the holy grail war, in the matou residence  
**_**  
**Kariya Matou, the rebel of the matou house who turned his back on the family magecraft, was now amidst the process of chanting lines, after a desperate, last minute attempt to catch up on all he so heartily rejected at a time. All for a single girl. The daughter of his love. The girl, who should have been his own daughter, given away to the monstrous fate that awaited all females of the matou house. Kariya was now a man warped by an insane need to save the girl who did in no way or form deserve what she was experiencing, and at the same time by an unquenchable need to get revenge at the people that drove him to take upon a path of self-destruction; Zouken Matou and Tokiomi Tohsaka.

And Kariya, had not a shred of doubt in his mind steeled with determination to protect that he would summon a servant and get the damned cup for all it was worth. It was not that the thought of defeat did not cross his mind, no, contrarily, it plagued him. But, it was that he could not back down after coming all this way, and he feared that any doubt or regret would weaken him, make him unable to save Sakura.

Still, Kariya Matou did not desire the grail. If he could save Sakura from the clutches of that goddamn devil, he would probably use up all his command seals and spend the rest of shortened life doing whatever little he could to bring back the bright, cheery Sakura from the traumas she experienced from his family.

So, the one thing Kariya did not expect was his summoning to go wrong and ending up with a servant that did not seem _powerful_ or _mad_. At all.

No, instead of summoning a madness enhanced, mindless beast that could reduce all in front of him to a smear of blood on the ground, in front of him was a handsome young man who looked to be in his early twenties, dark brownish hair and a look that screamed 'I'm dead tired, whoever you are, I'm gonna get a nap and then we can talk'

"Heh, it looks like you're a failure all the way, Kariya. You summoned a weakling for a servant, and you couldn't even give him the mad enhancement"

At this, Kariya gritted his teeth, surprisingly under very less pain than expected from the summoning, and was about to give a retort when the seemingly forgotten servant spoke up.

"I'm right here you know. Anyway, I'm servant berserker here, are you my Master?" The servant finally said, looking more tired than anything.

This turned their attention to the supposed 'weakling' of a servant. "Yes" was all he could mutter before the fatigue and the damn worms caught upto him, and Kariya fell to ground, coughing blood.

"Oi oi, are you alright there, master?" The servant rushed over to his now panting, blood-spitting, master.

"Are you sure you don't have any chronic disease that could kill you right now, because I have a wish I'd like to have granted and my master dying midway through the ordeal would be quite troublesome"

Zouken then spoke up "Looks like even your servant, no matter how weak he is, is starting to question you. Maybe I was too hasty in my actions, I should have known that a weakling like you could only summon a similar servant"

"Old man, I'm really tired and I would like to take a nap after I get my master to a safe place, so I'd appreciate it if you could shut up for a second, I may not be as strong as you wanted to be, but, as much as a drag it would be, I'll win this grail. Now, if you could please leave."

Zouken then left, assuming his foolish son and his excuse for a servant will find themselves dead soon enough.

As soon as Zouken took his leave, the young man turned to Kariya and spoke, "Given your condition and the nature of this war, I think we should retreat to a base of operations and have a nap, and then, maybe discuss some strategies."

Not really being in a position to think hard, plan, and act, Kariya was now somewhat glad that he got a servant who can think for himself. Perhaps if he was truly berserker as he says, maybe his chance to win this thing was not completely lost.

With this, Kariya and his not-so-mad berserker moved out, and decided to look for their base of operations. Because as it turned out, Kariya's original idea for one was a filthy back alley.  
_  
And amidst all the confusion at a sane berserker, Kariya forgot to even so much see his servant's parameters.  
_**  
_Soon after, somewhere in a mediocre Hotel in_**_ Fuyuki_

"Wow, master, this world really is the best for naps. I mean, look at this place, even the most posh inns back home didn't have such _soft_ beds and there is even a television. Getting information loaded in to your brain by the grail is one thing, to see this first hand is really an experience."

Kariya could only sweat drop at his servant's childish enthusiasm and obsession with naps. Even this very conversation was hours after his servants 'nap', although for Kariya, it seemed more like hibernation. To his surprise, the prana consumption of his servant was far less than he expected, and that meant alot less pain. The worms were still at work though, and his servant now once again took note of Kariya's discomfort.

"You know master, if you really have some sort of chronic disease, you should tell me. I may not be an expert at healing, but I do have a noble phantasm that could bring you back heal you from almost anything as long as you are alive. You don't look too well, even I can see that.." Kariya's eyes widened at his servants proclamation. This was a perk Kariya never even dreamed of, afterall, it isn't everyday that a berserker class possesses a noble phantasm suited for healing, much less could rationally enough to use it on his chronically wormed master.

_'Maybe he isn't weak as Zouken thought, wait, since when did I decide to trust that old bastard? If he thinks my servant is weak, then only the very opposite can be true. I should perhaps take a look at his stats and ask him about his skills'_

And** there we have it. I really was not sure about writing this, and my knowledge of Nasuverse is limited to the Fate/Zero anime. I've done some quick research to atleast get familiar on the way things work, but I still have a LOT, and I mean LOT, of doubts. Also, don't fear to point out anything I've missed or any plotholes. If anyone who're veterans to the nasuverse decide to give a damn about this fic and feel like helping me out, helping me out, leave a review or give me a PM. I'm going to put a stat sheet for berserker below, the same model as that I've found in various fics. Correct me if there are any mistakes, I'm not really in tune with the general rating system. Oh, and by the way, I do know that assassin was summoned first, I just thought I should keep the best for the last. Assassin's summoning would probably be shown as a flash back somewhere along the way.**_S__  
_

Servant: Berserker

Master: Kariya Matou

Real Name: Feruna Lieutolu, Ryner Lute

Also Known As: The Solver of All Equations, The Lonesome Demon, The Greatest Magician of Fiore, The most perverted sex fiend of Roland, The King of Anti-Roland Coalition, God, Devil, Demon, Ryner Eris Reed.

Gender: Male

Alignment: Neutral Good

Strength: C(B+)

Endurance: B(A+++)

Agility: A

Prana: A++(EX)

Luck: C

Noble Phantasm: EX

() - Extra rank up due to addition of Alpha to Mad Enhancement.

_Class Abilities_

Mad Enhancement: Raises all basic parameters in exchange for hindering mental capabilities.

A+: Rank up for all parameters, gains additional abilities of teleportation and flight, and complete disintegration of all existence including noble phantasms and heroes relics. Mad Enhancement here is special in the fact it will not be activated unless the master uses a command spell or through emotionally distressing situations. Can still be turned off through willpower, although when under this, the being residing inside Ryner, alpha is in control and will disintegrate anything and everything in sight unless duly stopped. Merely looking at his opponent can disintegrate him/her. As this skill is collaborated with the madness of alpha from when Ryner was alive which was bound to the Lonely half of the Lonely Demon, he can fight an internal battle with alpha in the plane of his mind to gain back control. Addition of Alpha grants him extra rank ups in Prana and Endurance. Will be permanently deactivated once awakened as Solver of All Equations.

Personal Skills:

Alpha Stigma (_Mystic eyes)_ -

A++: Allows Ryner to analyze, copy, deactivate, disrupt, modify or improvise upon all magic he sees. Does not work on noble phantasms or heroes relics. Can even create spells impromptu, and is limited only by strength of will and imagination, as he has achieved the highest possible degree of mastery in arranging magic lines.

Way of the Greatest Magician:

E-A+++: Known in life as the Greatest Magician of his land, possessing prodigious talent for magic even among alpha stigma retainers, this skill allows Ryner to use all magic he copied, created and improvised in his life time. As he knows the magics of almost all kingdoms from his world, the number of spells at his call well exceeds a thousand, including self enhancement dark magic which can improve specific parameters by two ranks. Once the weaknesses of a technique has been properly analyzed, Ryner can make spells impromptu for exploiting said weaknesses.

Expert of Many Specializations -

A+: In his lifetime, Ryner tried was trained at many other fields other than magecraft, including Hand to Hand Combat, Arts of Assassination, Tactics, Strategy, Ancient Lore, Symbols, Scribing and Languages. Ryner had natural aptitude for all these and was considered a genius.

Magic Resistance: A++ - An extension of Ryner's mastery over alpha stigma, virtually no magic can harm him unless he allows it to as he is automatically aware of the powers, advantages, disadvantages and weaknesses before it is even cast. Essentially, he can negate all magic, and his ability to cast an anti-magic field around a certain radius to disable all magic within the frame further augments this personal skill to surpass even that of the Saber Class.

_Noble __Phantasms__:_

Relics of Grateful Heroes: B-A+++ (Support Unit - Barrier - Anti-Army – Anti-Fortress) During his life, Ryner was tasked with collecting various heroes relics or Rule Fragments, all of which equivalent to extremely powerful noble phantasms. As a reward for being the martyr to protect his world, Ryner can now use all those he collected as he pleases.

The Solver of All Formulas: EX (Anti-Existence) – Ryner's most powerful Noble Phantasm. Activating this permanently removes mad enhancement but not its benefits, although lack of control over the area of effect of his powers make the outcome same regardless, if not worse. Allows Ryner to transverse to astral plane at will, and cannot be killed at that stage. Moving to astral plane can allow Ryner to use his ability to erase even the highest class of conceptual weapons. All existence can be erased at will, nothing can withstand its power and all reason of the world will bend to Ryner's whim by creating equations that can warp reality itself. But, once released, his attacks cannot be called back or stop and ignores all forms of durability, defense or resistance. Cannot be activated at will and requires killing Ryner or removing his eyes or use of a command seal under mad enhancement. Activating this Noble Phantasm however will compromise all rules of the holy grail war and even the holy grail itself as a single attack in this state can wipe out the whole populance of Fuyuki.


	2. Chapter 2 - Summoning of the Second Sage

**Disclaimer: If I owned any of the franchises involved in this fanfiction, why would I write fanfiction at all?**

**Warning: Continue at your own risk and be warned of plotholes, possibly overpowered characters(well, Gil is there in canon, so you really can't complain on that part, I'm just evening out the battlefield), lack of sufficient knowledge in franchises involved, cliches, OOC-ness, and complete clueless-ness in writing conversations. Also, no beta = mistakes mistakes everywhere.**

**_Fate Zero: Real War_**

**Chapter 2: Summoning of the Second Sage**

**First night of the Fourth Holy Grail War**

Standing atop a cliff, with coal black, and blank eyes staring intently at the Tohsaka manor, Kotomine Kirei spoke to no one in particular. "The seventh servant, Caster has been summoned."

At his words, a shadow emerged nearby, a truly terrifying presence, the surrounding flora withered and even the blowing wind now had a cold, ominous tinge to it. But the power and fear emanated by the sheer presence did nothing to even faze Kirei's empty eyes.

"Oh, so I suppose it is time for me to attack Tohsaka Tokiomi. Are sure, master? I believe you're supposed to be allied with him." Kirei's servant, Assassin's was delivered with the air of someone who was above everything, hubris of the voice only inflated by the mockery with which the word master was vocalized.

Kirei reply was as empty as his eyes, his servant's obvious belittlement promptly dismissed or unnoticed. "No need to concern yourself over that. Use a clone, the Tohsaka manor's magic barriers should be childplay to you"

"And? If I were to encounter Archer?"

"There is no need to fear. What could the lose of a clone mean to you, Assassin?"

"Indeed. I suppose you would want to depict me dead the very first night so I can check in on other servants unsuspected? That hurts my pride, but, oh well. I will win this war regardless by myself, even if you continue being Tokiomi's loyal dog. Afterall, there is not harm done following your orders for a while, maybe this war may even allow me to get a decent workout, if it was strong enough to summon me at my strongest"

"You speak too much, Assassin"

"Really, master? Maybe its that you just don't talk enough."

**Summoning of Assassin, a while back.**

_Kirei Kotomine stood in front of the summoning circle, waiting for his Servant to be appear. Kirei was not nervous, not excited, not afraid. He just was. When he came to know that he was to be a master in the Holy Grail war, the executioner for the church felt nothing, except a weird sort of confusion at why he was chosen, what he wished for from the grail. Born to Risei Kotomine, Kirei was always empty. He felt no desire, no need, no longing, no love, no pleasure, no amusement, no pain. Nothing._

_Suffice to say, Kirei would not have felt a thing at summoning an unexpected servant. He may have wondered what the reaction of his sensei, Tokiomi, would be. Nothing more, nothing less. Atleast that was what he thought, until he saw his servant. Kirei knew that all servants of the Assassin class so far were incarnations of Hassan-i-Sabbah, the Old Man of The Mountains. And he felt fairly certain that the man in front of him was not Hassan-i-Sabbah. However, that alone had no reason to set him off so, no, that would not have fazed Kirei in the least. It was the sheer presence, the raw power and fear that flowed from the servant summoned before him. Kirei may have been an empty man, but he was not a fool by any stretch of imagination. And the man in front of Kirei warrantied a sure death, unless properly responded to. A mere look at his stats confirmed Kirei's suspicions. This was not a servant that should have been summoned under the assassin class, this servant with his stats could go head to head again Saber and come out victorious and unscathed. More than anything, the authority and aura of sheer malicious killing intent that his servant spread scared Kirei. The man who had never felt any emotions before was scared. Yes, scared. Afraid. Petrified. Nervous._

_Kirei took his moment of hesitation in-order to take in the appearance of his servant, he had a long mane of waist length spiky hair, a weird red armor, traditional sandals, some sort of a metal forehead protector with a symbol carved on it itched to an indigo headband and a gunbai stuck to his back. And his eyes. Those eyes send an unknowing chill of fear down his spine, Kirei for a moment even doubted if he was hallucinating as a he saw purple ringed pattern, which then morphed into blood-red with a weird pattern which morphed again into three tomoes and finally to coal black, reminding Kirei of his own._

_While Kirei was busy taking in his anomaly of a servant, the mysterious assassin started "I am servant assassin, I ask of you, are you my master?"_

_The voice was deep, with a barely concealed arrogance. Kirei suddenly wiped all emotions from his conscience and decided to do what Tokiomi asked of him, "Yes. Tell me, are you the Old man of the Mountain, Hassan-i-Sabbah?"_

_"I think you know all too well that I am not. Do not test me, weakling. Even though I've been summoned as a servant, you should not forget your place, the weak should always kneel before the strong." Kirei pondered for a moment and then continued his questionnaire like nothing happened._

_"What do I call you then, who ARE you?"_

_"Not of this world, that is all you need to know, rest assured, no other servant can hope to stand against me, I will win the grail"_

_On hearing his servant's overconfident proclamation, Kirei again thought of what he would want from the grail, but soon banished the thought and decided to do as Tokiomi pleases, for now._

_"Assassin, that would not happen. In this war, I'm an ally to my sensei and we will only work to let him win the grail, I myself have no desire or wish for the grail."_

_"Oh, interesting. If you did not have a wish, why would the grail choose to give you the command seals?"_

_"I don't know."_

_"Well, no matter. For now, I will do as you say, but remember, whoever this Tokiomi is, his servant will have to defeat me in-order to get the grail, I have no plans on conceding anything to anyone. Those pitiful command seals, do not think for a moment that they can hope to control me."_

_With this, assassin immediately astralized._

_Assassin's nonchalant attitude about having to serve Tokiomi was somewhat unexpected, but Kirei supposed it spared him the effort of convincing the assassin. Kirei Kotomine did not ponder for a single moment of the likelihood of his servant even posing a challenge against Tokiomi's, despite the impressive stats._

**Present**

Immediately, wood flowed from assassin to take his form. Kirei's eyes widened at the sight. "Assassin, you could form clones of wood as well? Why did you not inform me of this ability?"

"Master, did you really think you even know a mere percent of everything I can do? Such impudence." The ever present tone of condescension in Assassin's voice now on a whole new level, like even trying to comprehend his was above Kirei.

Kirei decided to leave that, knowing his servant had a temper worse than that of the King of Heroes. In the end, Tokiomi and Kirei knew a very little about assassin's abilities except that he could do all they expected of Hassan-i-Sabbah and some.

Well, they were about to be in for a treat, if the malicious smirk on assassin's face as his clone moved at a blinding sending dust and debris flying towards the Tohsaka estate.

In a mediocre Hotel, Fuyuki

"Just great. Look at that assassin racing, I can already feel all the amount of naps I'm going to miss for this war. I mean, who the fuck made the rule about the war having to be fought at night? Such sadistic bastards!"

"There there Ryner, you shouldn't whine so much, you won't be able to sleep properly all morning if you're already so depressed."

Speaking in a cheerful voice brimming with a newfound enthusiasm was Kariya Matou, and next to him was his not berserk berserker, both seeing through the camera attached to one of Kariya's familiars. The attachment of camera was Kariya's idea. Finally having been freed of the crust worms eating him from inside, he managed to regain his ability to have longer thought processes and managed to infer that his turning away from the way of the magi will let him get a drop on more traditional mages like Tokiomi. Not to forget, having a sane person and a tactical genius for a berserker class does make planning all the more effective. Kariya was still in a state of disbelief, that his servant managed to get him back to how he was before the crust worms infested his body with what he called a Heroes Relic. Kariya assumed it was something to do with his legend, but he could not find the name Ryner Lute in any of the history books he knew, and Kariya did not want to go to Zouken for anything other than to get Sakura back. Not just because he hated the motherfucking vampire, but because he feared his going there would make Matou house a target for attack of other Masters and thereby harm Sakura.

Kariya was nonetheless now a lot more confident after taking a look at his servant's status and knowing he did not have a dead line to win this thing. Sure, his berserker did not have the monstrous strength characteristic to the class, but his skills in other areas more than covered up, as much of a mystery it was why he wasn't summoned a caster instead. He managed to bond with his servant somewhat in a day's time and came to the conclusion that he was a cool guy to be around overall, the only thing still somewhat in the dark was Berserker's mad enhancement and second noble phantasm. It was an accidental slip from Ryner's part that he had two noble phantasms. Ryner acting fishy and reluctant when inquired about his second noble phantasm and mad enhancement did not escape Kariya's notice either, but he let it be. Trusting his servant to inform him of them if need be.

Right now, Kariya was not a man of revenge and insanity but man full of hope, ambition and vision for a grand future. All because of a little playing around by all the world's evil. The irony, that it was the collective evil of all world that gave back hope to a broken man.

-  
**There! Next chapter. I know these two are short, but, never worry. These are mere prologues to introduce the new servants and a sort of plot device to write their stat sheets. I plan on making the rest of the chapters somwhere close to 5k in length. Though you guys may have to wait for close to week because exams are a pain the ass. Don't worry about being harsh, any and all criticism about grammar, spelling, plot, plot holes and false information are completely welcome. I'm well aware of my faults, or atleast I'd like to believe so, but, getting to know them second hand will give me motivation to correct those. Now, onto the stat sheet.**

Servant: Assassin

Master: Kotomine Kirei

Real Name: Madara Uchiha

Gender: Male

Alignment: Neutral Evil

Strength: B(A++)

Endurance: B(A++)

Agility: A++

Prana: A+(A++)

Luck: A

Noble Phantasm: EX

() - Rank up due to sage mode

_Class Abilities_

Presence Concealment: A++: If presence is concealed, detecting is nigh impossible. However, once preparation for attack begins, the skill drops greatly. Further enhanced by Madara's training as a ninja from a young age to the point that presence concealment drops only after the attack is released.

Personal Skills -

Sharingan(_Mystic eyes_): A - Allows user to track even the most minute muscle movements to predict attacks or copy movements. Can allow user to cast illusions and copy hand to hand combat. Needs to be activated before bringing out noble phantasms Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan and Rinnegan.

Sage Mode: A skill Madara absorbed from his reincarnated rival, Hashirama Senju. Absorbs nature chakra/Prana to give tremendous boosts in strength, endurance and prana reserves. Gives him enhanced sensory perception to detect all humans within a wide radius and increases the abilities of his noble phantasm Wood Release to monstrous proportions.

Way of the Shinobi: A++ - Mastered shinobi arts to the highest degree in one's era, matched only by his rival Hashirama Senju. Grants him usage of all ninjutsu, genjutsu and taijutsu learned during lifetime.

Noble Phantasms :

Mokuton (Wood Release): A+(EX) - Anti(?) – Ability to combine water and earth element to create life, this ability is one of the most treasured kekkai genkai from Madara's home world. Combined with Sage Mode, the power of this noble phantasm is virtually unstoppable.

Eyes of Sibling's Sacrifice (Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan): A+++ (Anti-Army to Anti-Fortress) – Comes with three separate noble phantasms: Amaterasu – An all consuming black flame that continues to burn for 7 days and 7 nights at the heat of the sun until its target is reduced to ashes, Tsukuyomi – An unbreakable illusion that traps victim in an illusionary world where the time and space is controlled by the caster and finally the most powerful ability of the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan, the Susanoo – Creates a huge prana construct that takes the shape of a four armed master, it is the ultimate defense and ultimate offense, capable of tanking even Bijuu Dama's and powerful enough to destroy multiple mountains with a single strike of its sword.

Rinnegan(The eyes of the Sage) EX (Support Unit – Anti Army – Anti Fortress – Anti-world)  
Six paths Technique: The **Six Paths Technique** (六道の術, _Rikudō no Jutsu)_ is the origin of the unique techniques bestowed by the Rinnegan. In total there are actually seven of these _paths _that grant the user powerful and near god-like abilities:

The Deva Path (天道, _Tendō_), which allows one to manipulate both attractive and repulsive forces.

The Asura Path (修羅道, _Shuradō_), which grants the user mechanised limbs, weaponry and armour.

The Human Path (人間道, _Ningendō_), which gives the ability to remove a soul and so, read a person's mind.

The Animal Path (畜生道, _Chikushōdō_), which lets the user summon a wide variety of creatures.

The Preta Path (餓鬼道, _Gakidō_), which can absorb all forms of chakra, including most ninjutsu.

The Naraka Path (地獄道, _Jigokudō_), through which one can summon and control the King of Hell.

The Outer Path (外道, _Gedō_), which rules over both life and death.

Other abilities granted by Rinnegan:

Summoning: Demonic Statue of the Outer Path - The user can summon the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path, which releases multiple black rods. Required for the technique, Demonic Statue Chains

Demonic Statue Chains: A technique derived from the Outer Path,[1] which allows the user to manifest chakra chains to bind their target allowing the user to bend the ensnared target to their will. These chains are strong enough to bind several tailed beasts to a user, even remotely. Through the use of chakra receivers, the user can manifest the chains in other beings, binding a target to the user.

Rinbo Hengoku: Using the power of the Rinnegan, the user focuses the dōjutsu on a specific target who is then buffeted by an invisible force which send them reeling some distance away from the user. This attack is powerful enough to repel all nine tailed beasts in an single instance.

Tengai Shinsei: The user weaves three hand seals simultaneously between himself and his Susanoo, in order to draw massive meteorites from the upper atmosphere down towards a specific location on the ground. As they descend in succession along the same trajectory, if one of these meteorites is stopped, he can summon another one which will then collide with the first, ensuring that they crash into their intended destination.

Chibaku Tensei: The user creates a singularity that when thrown into the sky, attracts objects from all directions and pulls them into the sphere compressing them simultaneously. The surrounding earth, including forests and mountains, are collected into a single point, piling on top of one another until it creates a large sphere.


	3. Chapter 3 - The Alliance

**Fate Zero: Real War**

**Disclaimer: Like always, I don't own anything. If I did, I wouldn't be writing fanfiction but playing GTA V on my brand new PS3.**

**Warning: Continue at your own risk and be warned of plotholes, possibly overpowered characters(well, Gil is there in canon, so you really can't complain on that part, I'm just evening out the battlefield), lack of sufficient knowledge in franchises involved, cliches, OOC-ness, and complete clueless-ness in writing conversations. Also, no beta = mistakes mistakes everywhere.**

**Chapter 2 – The Alliance**

Assassin moved through the bushes and trees into the Tohsaka manor like a raging storm, covering unbelievable distances with shows of swift agility in dodging every tree and grass in his path. Each of his steps send up debris and powerful gusts of wind, behind the bulk of power in his movements making evident an amount of skill and precision enviable even for servants of lancer class.

So much for being the servant of the shadows. This one didn't seem to be the subtle type with the swishes of wind that accompanied his movement to the mansion that could even be mistaken for a small storm brewing. Ofcourse there was no mistaking the fact that this was assassin, none of the other servants could exude this level of malicious aura and his choice of weapon, a gunbai, certainly did not belong to any knight classes. Another thing concreting his identity was that he took out short pointed knives from his pouch before putting them back there again for something more interesting. And, the level of dexterity he displayed afterwards couldn't be displayed by any class except lancer or assassin, the possibility of lancer having previously been off the table by his taking out of weird knives.

Upon reaching the Tohsaka courtyard, he jumped high into the air and casually did a back flip, eyes flashing suspiciously purple for a moment, before the sound of bounded fields being utterly obliterated rang throughout the mansion.

Yep. That confirmed it. Being subtle certainly wasn't one of this guy's strong points.

However, what should have resounded the whole of the mansion did not bring any threats to the front. Assassin smirked, like something just became clear to him. Finally, he turned his glance to the crystal glowing red atop a tall pillar-like structure. A small smile graced his features, and then he walked to the crystal without a care in the world, casually bringing up his right hand and whispered two words. The sound of invisible barriers crumbling was heard along with sight of the ground in front of him sans where the pillar stood being pushed away with what could only be described as an unseen force.

Not putting a stop to his stroll, he walked towards the pillar unconcerned about the absence of ground beneath him, the same mysterious force from before making path for him. Assassin on reaching the pillar held out his hand again and the crystal rose from its position to fly straight into his hands. But, a fraction of a second before the crystal reached his hands, a sword pierced into the crystal destroying it and then to his hands before a barrage of a variety of weapons came crashing down upon him. But, opposed to what most would expect of a man being pierced by a barrage of all kinds of weapons, Assassin's face was twisted in a glee of masochistic pleasure. As if the feel of bodies being pierced was a heavenly feeling. It was also to be noticed that assassin, though he noticed and dodged the first few weapons, stopped any attempt to get himself out of the way after a spear nicked his knee. If it wasn't for the fact that assassin almost immediately encountered a shower of even more weapons than before, one might even think he allowed the rest of the weapons to hit him as sort of a reward for nicking his leg.

A voice came from the above the assassin, and an excessive hew of golden.

"Oi mongrel on the ground, your charade has entertained me, now look up to behold the sight of the king, and be delighted, for you are looking at the king as you die"

Interestingly, not a drop of blood was coming from the assassin's body that was now pierced by all kinds of weapons. Assassin lowered his head so that his hair now shadowed his eyes and hid them from the rest of the world while rising his head and taking a look at the man covered in golden armor. No one but the King of Heroes himself saw the sheer power and fear that the eyes that now practically _glowed_ crimson with an intricate black design emitted. The unwavering pride and ego of the King were the only things that prevented him from taking a step back. Even then, it was evident from the pure crimson eyes of Archer that the previous arrogance that shone there was now shattered to make way for disbelief.

That look which would have been cherished by all who knew of the infamous ego of Gilgamesh only lingered for but a mere second, as the assassin now reduced to a pierced mess on the ground, which interestingly enough was not affected at all by barrage of Archer's weapons, dissipated like all servants do upon death. But, one could not miss the lack of blood or the pitiful amount of damage Archer's weapons did to the ground, as if they were launched without any amount of power behind them.

Gilgamesh twitched his face in frustration. "Tch, the mongrel dared to mock the King before his death. I almost regret killing the worm so soon with such little pain."

The King of Heroes then astralized in a glitter of golden particles. If only he knew the wrath he invited upon himself.

**Inside the Tohsaka Mansion**

"Everything went splendidly" Tokiomi mused to himself, after having watched the things having transpired according to plan in his courtyard. Archer suddenly materialized next to him, leaning on the window glass of his balcony.

"That was quite the pathetic trifle you've troubled me with, Tokiomi. But, that assassin has captured the king's intrigue and wrath, maybe this war might bring me some amusement after all. I will take pleasure in personally ending that mongrel's conceit. He will know the a price of beguiling the King's wrath." Gilgamesh said, sore about assassin having humiliated before his supposed 'death', but somewhat curious about the mystery that surrounded the assassin at the same time.

"Indeed, king of all kings, I will see to it that assassin will not meet his end by anyone but his majesty" Tokiomi replied, changing his posture to one with his head bowing, careful not to meet the gaze of Gilgamesh.

"You better make certain of that, Tokiomi. I will amuse myself with this new age for now."

"Does that mean this new era is to your liking, King of Heroes, Gilgamesh?"

"Its unspeakably ugly, but, what matters is if it holds some treasures I can add to my collection. I look forward to the time I can meet that assassin face to face again. I will enjoy crushing him."

"Indeed, King of Heroes. Furthermore, I'm sure the Holy Grail would be a treasure worth adding to your collection."

"That is not for you to decide, Tokiomi. If I do not find anything worth my adoration, you will pay dearly for summoning me and wasting my time. However, if this grail is a treasure, it belongs to me. That is the law. I will not allow any mongrel to touch it without my consent. I shall leave the details to you now."

After Gilgamesh took his leave, Tokiomi pondered to himself. "Yare Yare, to think Gilgamesh was summoned under the Archer class that comes with A rank independent action. Well, I hope Kirei can handle things from now on, that assassin's ego is one to match Gilgamesh, I just hope he can deal with it."

Looking out through the window, Tokiomi found that the ground where Gilgamesh's weapons struck was perfectly fine. Well, as fine as it was before assassin obliterated it along with the barriers. Tokiomi frowned in discomfort. He had no doubt it was Assassin's doing, if that last minute smirk of pure hubris was anything to go by. To think a mere assassin could negate a direct attack from an Archer class was an amazing feat, and the fact that this was an attack from the King of Heroes himself only furthered his fears. For a moment, Tokiomi wondered if this assassin would truly be a challenge to the King of Heroes, though those thoughts were quickly banished.

**Meanwhile, in a mediocre hotel in Fuyuki.**

"Damn this war, I'm gonna have a nap."

"Didn't you just wake up from one?"

"Well, after watching that whole exchange between Assassin and Archer, I've got depressed because of how much naps I'm going to miss over this war, so I need to nap again."

"Why're you depressed again? Assassin's dead, one less servant to fight with. Isn't that a good thing? On another note, how do you know that servant in the gold was Archer?"

"He _throws_ swords and spears and lances, duhh...That regal aura and ego screams in your face that its a knight class, and I'm pretty sure Lancer doesn't throw swords and Saber doesn't throw spears. Besides, I wouldn't be so quick in saying Assassin is dead. For one, he didn't bleed. Even if they're servants, they should atleast _bleed_. And, if I were the master of assassin, wouldn't it be better for everyone to think assassin was dead so no-one would actively take precautions against the servant of the shadows?"

"Well, that makes sense I suppose."

"It never hurts to be over-cautious"

"Yeah, you're right"

"Exactly, which brings me back to my previous point. I need a nap."

Without allowing Kariya time to make a retort, his servant immediately went to sleep. It amazed the youngest of the matou house how quickly his servant immersed himself in slumber, especially considering the fact that servants usually didn't even need sleep in the first place.

Despite the very short span of knowing Berserker, Kariya was beginning to like Ryner more and more every second. Of all people he met in his life, Ryner was no doubt among the best, though thats not saying much since he hadn't met many nice people in his life.

But, enjoying these conversations came off as bit of a guilty pressure for Kariya, as what Sakura was suffering was still plaguing him. Having his crust worms removed by his servant was one thing, killing Zouken to get back Sakura was an entirely different matter. He could order the crust worms inside Sakura to kill her the very moment Kariya even made an attempt to kill him or infiltrate the mansion. If there was one thing Kariya would give credit to Zouken for, it was that he was efficient. There was no chance in hell for Kariya or Ryner to get inside the mansion to rescue Sakura without tipping Zouken off. Ofcourse Kariya hadn't yet told Ryner of this, assuming there won't be much he could do, and that was something he did not enjoy talking about.

**Next morning**

"Ryner, Ryner, wake up. Its morning."

...

...

"Ryner, its almost noon.."

Sound of water being poured was heard and a young man who looked like he lacked any motivation slowly got up from his comfortable sleep.

"Ah, Kariya. Good Morning."

"Good Morning my ass, its fucking EVENING NOW!"

"Ah, really. Man, I'm so tired I could probably sleep for a hundred hours this day alone. Damn, why'd you wake me up? I wouldn't have disturbed anyone and woulda kept on sleeping and napping and sleeping and-"

Ryner nonsensical babbles were cut off by a book striking hard against his head. Kariya was now thoroughly fed up with his shit.

"Get your lazy ass up or I'm gonna use a command seal to make it that you'd never nap again, its almost night, but a tad bit of daylight still remains. We can do atleast a bit of scouting for the time being."

Now _that_ caught the attention of the placid berserker. No, not the scouting part. The part about losing his naps.

"Whaat? No. Surely, you can't be serious...No way. I can't have got a manipulative, heartless, shameless, prideless idiot for a master. Kami-sama, what did I do in my life to deserve this torture?"

"Stop it, Ryner. Play time's over. We have business to take care of. Today is when the holy grail war will truly pick up."

"Scouting? Can't I just stay here tucked up in this comfortable bed? I don't really want this, as you can see."

"You're coming, Ryner. Whether you want it or not."

"Tch. There really is no way out of this, is there?"

"Nope. None at all."

**In Fuyuki City, late afternoon**

A woman with pure snow-colored hair and crimson eyes was walking alongside another blond woman, who gave off a zealous and noble aura, noticeable to even unaware onlookers. The white haired woman, Irisvel Von Einzbern, was looking at the sky-scrappers that stretched over the horizons with the curiosity of a child who had his first toy. And the King of Knights, for it will be too demeaning to describe this unmistakably zealous knight as anything else, was trailing shortly behind, her guard up and eyes seeing over every detail, like expecting to be attacked any moment.

"Saber, you don't need to be so formal all the time you know. Kiritsugu is probably here by now, and the servants won't attack each other until the night comes."

"It is unbefitting of a knight to give anything less than their full attention to the safety of the escorted. And as the King of Knights, I cannot give anything less than my best."

"Hai hai, honestly, there's no changing you." Irisvel replied, giving up.

Suddenly, Saber's senses picked up and she got on guard, standing protectively in front of Irisvel. "Shh..A servant is coming towards us. That presence is unmistakable. Be prepared to retreat, Irisvel. In such a populated expanse, I cannot compromise the safety of civillains by fighting at my full strength, but our opponent might not be so cautious."

Walking towards them was an annoyed Kariya who was being pestered by his servants constant musings about how he should be taking a nap now instead of wandering the city. Kariya was wearing the same outfit from as before, except this time, the hood covering his head off, showing the face of an ordinary young man. As for Ryner, he had already donned some modern day outfits for himself, choosing to wear a light blue t-shirt, over which he wore a plain white coat. Nothing out of the ordinary. Simple but elegant and gave Ryner the visage of a demotivated but handsome and attractive man in his early twenties. He was also wearing matching blue and white pants, and fully white sneakers. Overall, they were nothing out of the ordinary, Ryner's supposed aura of a servant obvious only to Saber, unlike the King of Knights whose noble air could not be missed by hardly anyone.

The male duo's to and forth banter was temporarily put on hold as a teen wearing regal looking black suit confronted them, hands up and ready for combat.

Saber was now even more cautious than before, having confirmed Kariya to be a master from the command seals on the back of his right hand.

"State your purpose. Do you mean to compromise the rules of the war's anonymity by confronting another servant on a densely populated area?"

For a moment, a look of complete and utter confusion passed over the faces of Kariya and Ryner before they simultaneously said. "Whaat?"

As if struck in the head by a pole, both the servant and master took a step back and dropped into fighting stances, finally becoming aware of the situations they found themselves in.

Saber, who was now in her battle armor holding what appeared to be an invisible weapon as well, awaiting the inevitable combat.

At seeing the blond beauty take her stance with the sword – though he couldn't really tell – a look of recognition lit Ryner's face and he uttered a single word. "Ferris."

Saber, not really noticing the change in berserker's demeanor looked ready to attack any moment. Kariya shouted. "Ryner, what in the name of god are you now spaced out about? I..The freaking servant is about to attack you."

Kariya's reprimanding words brought Ryner back to reality, and he quickly analyzed the position he found himself in, before standing back up from his fighting stance and flailing both his arms in surrender. "Oi oi, exactly what are you going on about? We were just walking through the street and you suddenly hold up your sword and get all horny about _us _compromising the war's anonymity and whatnot. Thats just plain cruel, you know?"

Saber face at hearing this lit up in bright red before she shamefully bowed her head to give out an apology.

It was to Ryner more a surprise than anything he's faced so far.

Yes, he was summoned in an ancient war where heroes from the past fight to death for an omnipotent wish-granting device and he was not even of this world. Yeah alright. No big deal. Yes, he was summoned as a berserker. Well, no matter. Yes, he had all the heroes relics from back home. Oh, cool. Yes, he was summoned by a master who was chronically ill from alot of crust worms. Child's play, he had seen the Eris family customs afterall.

But this. He couldn't imagine anyone even vaguely reminding him of Ferris Eris _not_ hitting him with a sword or going on a ramble about the perverted tendencies of the great preverted overlord that he was. It just seemed.._wrong._

_'Holy shit! Did I just hear that? Now I can probably nap without worries of her being Ferris, though I ought to have realized that as soon as I knew I didn't get knocked out by the flat end of the sword after that delivery. Why __**is**__ that sword invisible anyway, wait, now that I'm sure she's not Ferris, I can't even say if its a sword anymore, maybe I should take a look at it with alpha stigma. No, she seems paranoid enough without me showing those cursed eyes, if I do that now, I'll probably be blessed with a severed head rolling on the ground.' _Ryner thought wistfully and he took a moment to really check if he really was conscious this time around. Ferris tended to do that.

Once he did his check, Ryner managed to string up a reply without giving too much away. "Me and my master were just having a stroll. If you want to blame this on anyone, put all the blame on him. I really woulda stayed back and had a nap than this stroll. Its all so troublesome."

"Hey, don't lay it all on me now, you're supposed to protect your master, not find ways to make him the enemy of every other person you see."

As the to and forth banter between the two was once again on the verge of breaking out, a hardy stifled giggling bought to their attention the white haired girl, white haired woman if you may, for the first time.

"So this is how normal people talk with each other. Its really so much more fun than Kiritsugu made it out to be." The girl said with the completely innocent look of an angel on her face, and for the first time after seeing the duo, Saber to let small smile lit her sharp features.

"You two don't seem to be bad, man, I'd really hate to have to fight the two of you to death. The night is arriving, how about we get into an agreement before then. Would you two happen to be interested in an alliance with us, or should we move this to somewhere remote so people don't get involved." Ryner asked the two woman, or rather, one woman and a girl.

"Atleast think of consulting your master before you go asking for alliances, Ryner." Kariya interrupted with a deadpanned face.

"Very well, I too find the two of you to be good individuals, atleast for now. And as you do not seem to be a knight who takes honor in a duel but a man to stay behind the scenes, I suppose we will agree to this alliance. I'm not so conceited that I would attack anyone that do not think as I do. I would be putting on line my honor as a knight if I were to attack two individuals that have not tried to take advantage of this situation without provocation. I would hate to fight you both to death as well, for now, we can atleast further the inevitable."

"Don't you think you should consult your master before making such decisions, are all servants dictators like this?" Irisvel asked innocuously enough, though it didn't take Ryner much to see that the question had more meaning to it than the two let on.

"I did not think such an action is necessary as this alliance would be for the best, same as Ryner here."

And so, began what could potentially be the most dangerous alliance in whole war, near the close of the very first day of holy grail war, no less.

**Yosh! I'm back fellas, and sooner than I really expected. My schedule unexpectedly gave me some free time, and I decided to devote it to this fic. I hope the new** **chapter is to your liking. Like I've pointed out many times before, don't hesitate to point out any mistakes. Also, I'm adding a little something that was not here before,** **okay? Please read and review. Point out my +ve's and -ve's. Just list out anything you feel after reading the chapter. More reviews may just give me enough motivation to go and complete the next chapter really soon. No pressure though..**

**I think I'm having a bit of trouble humanizing the characters. Starting to think if i'm emotionally numb or something. Seriously, I feel like I can't bring out humor, or even start a natural conversation between anyone. I aim to please, however, it just doesn't seem to come. That was why there are a few - messed up - attempts at humor. Because you see, I'm not good at making a joke for the love of my life, much less subtle, truly humorous ones. All I can do is make blunt attempts at not humorous-humor, and even that takes a lot of effort from my part.**

**On another note, looks like I won't be keeping the promise about 5k long chapters. Damn. Thats some work. I think I'll reset my target to 3k for now.**

**Edits on this chapter:**

**1/2/2014: Hey there. After reading the whole thing again, I found how stupid it was of me to make them have an alliance out of the blue. I mean, those two duos didn't even have a meaningful conversation or know of each others skills. They just..clicked. Ofcourse for Ryner, it would be the fact that he'd hate to fight anyone that even vaguely resembles Ferris. But, I can't honestly give such an excuse for Saber. But, I'm too much of a lazy ass to rewrite that whole portion. So, I think I'll settle for trying patch things up a bit by adding some honor talks from Saber. Honor is truly a wonderful thing. Any irrational decision from Saber, I can justify in the name of honor. By that logic, then chivalry, arrogance, ego and naps are wonderful things too. I can justify any irrational decision from any servant with these signature emotions. Caster, since he is already batshit crazy doesn't need any incentive for being irrational though.**


	4. Chapter 4 - At the Docks

**Disclaimer: Like always, I don't own any anime. I'm not even of age for owning _anything_ legally.**

**Warning: Continue at your own risk and be warned of plotholes, possibly overpowered characters, lack of sufficient knowledge in franchises involved, cliches, OOC-ness, and complete clueless-ness in writing conversations. Written in a hurry. So expect a shtload of typos too. And, I don't give a damn about the light novel claiming Saber and Lancer fought at near light speed. This is based on anime. If you have any problem with that, just suck it up. Don't even think of giving me a PM. I don't plan on giving Gil or Saber or anyone mach 45 reactions either. Live with it or don't read, okay?**

**Note: Anyone ready to be my beta please PM.**

**Fate Zero: Real War**

**Chapter 4 - At the Docks**

"Well, got any plans on what we're going to do from here on?" Ryner asked, the surprise of having made an alliance with another servant this quickly still present.

"We were thinking of visiting the sea. Irisvel here has never seen it before."

"The sea, huh? Ah, I did get information about it when I was summoned. Seeing it first hand will be really cool, I guess. Though I'd rather take a nap to seeing sea or whatever anyday. Infact, I'd be taking one right now if it wasn't for my slave-driver of a master here. "

"You've never seen sea before, Ryner?" Kariya asked, suddenly curious.

Saber seemed interested in this new development as well, though she did not vocalize her question, preferring to know as much as she could about the mysterious pair they just met without revealing much herself. Irisvel couldn't see the status of servants, not being her actual master, a disadvantage for them.

"How about starting our trip to the sea now?" Ryner answered a question with a question, choosing to deliberately get round the question.

"The night has almost set, if you try anything, be certain that I will not hesitate to cut you down." Saber warned beforehand as they started making their way to the shore.

"Aye aye, do I really look the type to pick a fight with the Saber class on the very first night? Moreover, my ultimate strategy for the war is to take a long nap till everyone else has killed themselves and then go get the grail for myself." Ryner replied in his usual happy-go-lucky manner.

Ryner's statement caused Saber to turn her attention to him, and Ryner being quick to catch on the slip up, raised his hands defensively and beckoned forgiveness.

"Okay, this is where you ask how I know you're a Saber class, right?"  
The King of Knights only gave a nod, her features in a frown and ready to pounce at her opponent.

"Well, you really ought to be _not_ so obvious about your class. I mean, seriously, you were going on and on about the chivalry of a knight and then Kariya told me your impressive stats while you two were busy looking for the truth of the world or whatever. Besides, your grip on that invisible weapon was a giveaway, I knew of a girl exactly like you that wielded the sword in pretty much the same way, and we were somewhat close. So, it wasn't much of a leap to guess which knight class uses a sword and has all round excellent stats."

Hearing Ryner's explanation, Saber eased her posture and gave him only another nod to indicate that she was convinced. The animosity once again neutralized, the group resumed their walk to the shore.

The sky was now pitch black, indicating the time for the holy grail war to truly commence has arrived.

Irisvel and Kariya were slowly trailing behind their respective servants (first class oxymoron/irony right there), Irisvel slowly taking in all the sights around her and Kariya just letting his servant lead the way for once.

Once they reached the shore, Irisvel, like a child seeing water for the first time, rushed over to the waves that were washing over the shores in a mild and tempered way.

The two servants stood atop a cliff somewhat, Ryner appeared contend to just lay there and take in the beauty of the sea. Saber on the other hand was more conscious of her surroundings, though she took a seat on the rock next to Ryner.

Kariya was sitting far away from the three, looking into the sky with a visage that seemed to be yearning for something.

"Tell me Ryner, what are your strengths in combat, if we're going to fight together, its only fair that we know of eachothers abilities." Saber asked, her still eyes fixed on Irisvel.

A vain appeared on her forehead as she heard no answer. She turned to ask him more sternly once more when she noticed that Ryner was...asleep. Saber could only facepalm at him for so carelessly falling asleep with an enemy servant sitting close by.

Somewhat reluctantly, Saber reached out and poked the man's temples. No visible response.

With her patience wearing thin, Saber took momentarily materialized her invisible weapon, now identified as a sword, in her hand hit the servant on the top of his head with its flat side. Kariya got up from his place out of concern, then sat back again seeing Saber didn't mean any harm. Afterall, trying to get his servant wake up from his task sometimes drove people to do that.

Now _that_ woke Ryner. Saber repeated her previous question once more.

"My skills, huh? Well, I suppose a tad-bit info won't do anything harmful. I know atleast something about you now. Lets see. I have a pair of mystic eyes that will allow me to identify and do whatever the fuck with any magic I see, including copying them, nullifying them or even creating spells to counter that specific type of magic impromptu. Thats all I'm willing to share for now."

"I see. An interesting skill indeed. That means your magic resistance, in effect, is even greater than that of mine. Are you by any chance, caster?"

"Nope."

"Alright."

At this moment, Ryner suddenly perked up from his position on the ground and Saber got up from the stone she was sitting in. Both called in their masters. "Irisvel, an enemy servant is making their presence known hundred meters from here. He seems to be inviting us there." Saber asked the white haired woman.

"How thoughtful, he seems wants to choose the battlefield. Shall we take the invitation, Saber?"

"We shall." Saber answered with a slight smile.

Saber then turned to Ryner who was informing Kariya of the event. "Are you two coming, then? I must warn you, even though we have agreed upon an alliance, I will not stand back and fight with you against a single foe. Either you or I will fight. The other will stand back."

"Hai hai, I don't want to fight at all, you know. I'm content just staying back and watching things play out."

Saber gave Ryner a nod of acknowledgment and the group started moving into the docks.

**In the docks**

"Welcome." A voice reverberated across the suspiciously empty docks, as four of people slowly made their way to the center.

The voice continued. "I have spent this entire day searching for other servants. Yet everyone simply hides away in their little holes. You, brave warriors, are the only ones to have accepted my invitation."

A figure stepped out of the shadows, two spears at each hand and an unmistakable aura of a servant.

Saber, at seeing the servant enthusiastically walked forward ready for battle.

The figure spoke up again. "That pristine valor, you are Saber, I presume?"

"Indeed. And you must be Lancer."

"Yes. But you, I cannot see which class you could possibly be from." Lancer asked, now looking at Ryner.

"Oh, you two need not worry about me or my master. We're just staying around to watch the battle."

"I suppose I can accept that, you have atleast shown the readiness to watch the battle without hiding away like poltroons."

Ryner just flashed him a little smile and went with Kariya to move to the corner and get themselves comfortable.

Lancer now turned to face Saber once more.

"I regret that I cannot name myself even though we will be fighting to death. It is the fault of these unfortunate rules."

Saber merely looked on and changed into her battlegear and held up her weapon. "Saber, I can use healing magic to support you. Nothing more." Irisvel informed Saber from behind.

"Leave Lancer to me. The only thing that worries me is that the other master is nowhere to be seen. They might be plotting something. Please be careful." Saber replied to Irisvel.

Furthermore, she said something unexpected.

"Please cover my back, Irisvel."

"Very well, bring me victory, Saber."

"Yes. Without fail."

Near the corner, Ryner was simply lying there without a care in the world, Kariya standing next to him. Both of them were wordlessly watching th exchange between Saber and Lancer.

"You know Ryner, because you removed the crust worms from me, I don't I'll be able to help you in anyway. Not even with healing magic." Kariya told Ryner, looking somewhat troubled, yet happy at the same time.

"Nah, thats no need prob. The only thing that could be troublesome is if you were to encounter another master while I'm not around. But, I've thought of something that can rectify that. I'll give it to you after we go back to the hotel and have a nap."

Needless to say, Kariya was once more surprised. It looked like his servant was once again full of the unexpected. All the more, Kariya felt inexpressibly grateful to his servant and thanked all the gods again for letting him have Ryner as a servant.

**On top of the cargo boxes at the docks  
**  
"Kiritsugu, should I eliminate the master who came with Madam?" Asked Maiya, a cold-hearted assassin loyal to Kiritsugu, the true master of Saber.

"No. His servant is nearby, and the servant's class and abilities are unknown. It would not be wise and will compromise our position. For now, move to the eastern wharf and try to locate Lancer's master." Kiritsugu replied, his voice betraying none of the anxiety he had.

"Roger." Maiya responded in an equally emotionless voice.

After sometime of observation, Kiritsugu spotted the mage who had put up the barrier standing on top of a building, completely unaware of his surroundings. '_Typical mages. Always living in the bliss of ignorance believing their petty tricks are all there is to this world.' _Thought Kiritsugu with contempt.

But, he allowed none of the personal distaste for magi get into the line of his work and immediately contacted Maiya. "Do you see Lancer's master?"

"Negative. Not from my position."

"Very well, I shall take him out myself."

Kiritsugu readied the rifle and took aim, only to freeze midway as he felt a cold blade against his throat. _'H-how, who?' _Kiritsugu wondered for a moment, and realization struck him almost instantly. _'Assassin, ofcourse.' _Kiritsugu readied himself for an inevitable death, his heart thoroughly crushed at his part in the war ending so quickly.

Surprisingly, the blade did not cut through his throat, but was slowly, readily, removed. However, a powerful and arrogant voice that caused Kiritsugu to visibly shudder came soon after. "You will not interfere in this fight. It will turn out as it will. And be grateful, fool. It is only my master's obsession over you that gives you this pass at life. I will not tolerate any more of your shady tricks, even if my pathetic excuse of a master tells me to. And you will not reveal the fact that I am alive to anyone else but your servant battling out there."

The voice had some sort of power, authority, and that combined with his current situation left Kiritsugu unable to give an appropriate answer or even ponder at the irony assassin talking about not playing shady tricks. The presence soon disappeared, and Kiritsugu let out a sigh of relief. Atleast he could inform Saber and make suitable plans for assassin, though he felt that there was something about this particular servant that told him to stay away at all costs to avoid obliteration.

"Is everything alright?" Came Maiya's voice.

"Yes. We have abandoned plans for assassinating Lancer's master for now."

"Why?"

"You need not to know. Keep watching the fight and hold your position. Make sure you pay attention to the unknown servant"

"Roger."

Kiritsugu and Maiya then resumed watching the fight between the two servants that were still exchanging blows and parrying strikes. Lancer appeared ready to unleash his noble phantasm and Kiritsugu was once again prompted to end Lancer's master's life, only held back by assassin's warning and decided to put his trust in King Arthur.

**Atop the Fuyuki Bridge**

"Ohohoh. This is most admirable. Most admirable indeed."

The King of Conquerers, the Rider class servant of the Fourth Holy Grail War, one of the most known heroes throughout the world, Alexander the Great, exclaimed.

His master, a skinny, lanky boy no older than twenty was looking like he'd be anywhere else but not at the top of the bridge.

"What is admirable, you fool?" The boy, Waver Velvet, asked.

"That unknown servant. A truly worthy opponent he'll be. That man now has the honor of watching this magnificent battle closest and he need not hide like we do. I must say, even I could not think of such a great tactic."

"What are you talking about, baka! That guy just walked there with his servant and told them he doesn't want to fight. Both of those servants could now just team up and cut his head off, or better, his master's."

"That didn't happen. And I assure you, it won't. Those two are honorable knights I choose as my subjects anyday. If their masters try to pull anything low as that, I have no doubt they will stall their masters enough for the unknown servant and his master to get into stance."

All the while they were talking, blows were being exchanged between Saber and Lancer. Lancer appeared ready to use his noble phantasm.

"This is bad. At this rate, Saber will soon be defeated. I cannot allow that."

"What are you talking about? That'll mean one less opponent for us to fight."

Alexander responded to this by flicking Waver in the forehead.

"Fool! What are you talking about? I wanted to keep watching till more masters showed up. But, it seems it will be too late if we wait for anylonger."

"What do you mean too late? Wasn't the plan to attack them after they've knocked eachother out?"

"Its true that I had hoped atleast one more servant will come at Lancer's call. It would have been easier to defeat all of them at once than finding them one by one."

"All at once..?" Waver asked, truly curious now if Alexander was just too strong or too foolish.

"Indeed. Rarely does one have the opportunity to exchange blows with heroes from another age. And with the chance to fight as many as six, I can't let one of them fall now. Look at Saber and Lancer, valiant warriors I would like to fight anyday, and the unknown servant has grabbed my attention the most. He may look lethargic now, but I can see true nerves of steel in him and his master. It'd be a pity to let any of them die now"

"Isn't that the point?! Servants are supposed to kill eachother in the Holy Grail War." Waver shouted once more, only to be sent back once again by a flick to the forehead.

"To win, but not destroy. To conquer but not humiliate. That is true conquest!" Alexander exclaimed with great enthusiasm and maturity than what was displayed beforehand, and with that he summoned his chariot, ready to race to the battlefield.

**Author's note: A bad chapter. Sorry. Not much action, just a recap of canon. I felt that just skipping these completely will leave give the whole thing a bad feel. So, I wrote some of the less interesting scenes this time. Plus, I want to do the fights when I'm not in a hurry. I only had around an hour to write this much. Parents..Final Exams..the usual nightmares of a tenth grade student. I'm afraid next chapter will commence only after 14****th**** of march which is when my exams will end. I promise to make it long and well written, unlike this one. There will also be a fight for Ryner. With Gilgamesh. Won't that be epic? Read and Review. Don't forget to leave criticisms. I love those. They atleast let me know people are reading my work. Sayonara.**

EDIT:

**Yes! The confrontation between all the servants and the battle is a****bout to begin..or, well, it will, when the next chapter comes out. But, the wait will be longer than before for the next chapter. Like they say, you have to wait for good things to come. :P**

**Lets see if I can hit 30 reviews by then. I haven't set my hopes high, seeing even a** **great fic like Fate Zero Sanity has only a paltry 150 reviews or so. God, I don't know how Infamous man's fic got so many reviews. IMO, breaking the fourth wall is good in fics only when its omake. **

~Zetsueno

**P.S. This chapter has not been edited for mistakes or plot holes. Haven't even read it over once after writing. Expect me to make minor changes as I notice the mistakes every now and then. And my apologies for the..well..bad writing. For the length too. Its short. I know. But, something is better than nothing for the month to come, ne?**


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